How a Shaker crew is put together

Staffing is the part of a bar quote couples pay least attention to and feel most on the night. Shaker staffs one bartender per 75 guests, which sets the crew size before anything else is decided: a 150-guest wedding takes two, a 250-guest wedding takes four. Renting glassware adds a busser, since collecting, washing and returning glasses is a full job on its own.

Staff arrive at least 2 hours before the ceremony to set up. Staff leave 1.5 hours after the bar closes, once clean-up is done. Those hours sit outside the booked service window, and the clean-up at the end is what planners mention most often in our reviews.

Roles Shaker staffs, and what each one does.
Role	Rate	Ratio	What they do
Bartenders	$50 an hour	One per 75 guests	Build and run the bar, pour for your guests, manage stock through the night so the drinks people are actually ordering do not run out, and keep the bar area clean. Shaker’s own hiring standard is bartenders who can work a busy bar and keep service safe and steady at the same time.
Bar glassware bussers	$50 an hour	Required whenever glassware is rented	Collect, wash and return glassware through the event. It exists as a separate role because a bartender doing it is a bartender not pouring, and because 300 glasses do not walk back to the bar on their own.
Barbacks	On request	Quoted to your event	Keep the bartenders supplied (ice, stock, garnishes, glassware) so service never stops to go and fetch something.
Servers and table bussers	On request	Quoted to your event	Table service and clearing, for events where drinks come to guests rather than guests coming to the bar.

What we hire for

Top-notch bartenders

Shaker hires bartenders who know their way around a busy bar and how to keep things cool and safe, so guests have a good time and the evening runs smoothly for you.

Smart drink stocking

Bartenders keep the drinks your guests actually want within reach and cut down on leftovers, which keeps the party moving and the cost down. On a BYOB bar this is the difference between returnable bottles and opened ones.

Effortless collaboration

The crew works with the rest of your vendor team rather than around it, from setup through clean-up. Planners are the people who notice this first, and it is what turns up most often in Shaker’s reviews.

Exceptional customer service

Timely service and attention to detail, with bartenders who treat each guest as a guest rather than an order in a queue.

The people

Named, with their real roles and certifications. Every Shaker team member is TABC certified, which is the Texas training that covers checking ID, pacing service and refusing it when someone has had enough.